Florida State's goal: Top Florida, settle for title of best in the state

Seminoles have four losses, no hopes of national title

Florida State's quarterback, EJ Manuel pulls down a fake pass as he runs for the first touchdown against Maryland in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon)

TALLAHASSEE — Florida State hopes to salvage at least one of its preseason goals Saturday in its regular season finale at Florida.

The Seminoles (7-4, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) look to rebound from their most surprising loss in Jimbo Fisher’s two years as head coach. Florida State is looking to win the mythical state championship for the second straight year when they meet the Gators (6-5, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) — completing a sweep of Miami and Florida.

“It’s a great time for us to get some respect back,” Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel said Monday.

Florida State, which was ranked fifth nationally in mid-September, dropped totally out of the rankings after Saturday’s 14-13 homecoming loss Saturday to Virginia, a three touchdown underdog. The Cavaliers went 75 yards in 37 seconds for the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

“Defensively when we needed the one big stop, we didn’t get it, Fisher lamented. “Missed opportunities.”

The preseason hype that had Florida State favored to win the ACC and possibly more has long ago dissipated. The Seminoles are fighting to avoid one of those 7-6 seasons that became all too common in the last decade and led to the departure of long-time coach Bobby Bowden.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the direction we’re going,” Fisher said. “We just haven’t gotten there this year. We stumbled and there’s been a lot of reasons” why.

Penalties and not being able to pick up a tough yard in key situations have been a season-long menace to the Seminoles.

Fisher blamed mental fatigue toward the end of the season on some if his team’s sloppiness in the Virginia loss.

“It happens,” Fisher said. “It’s something as coaches that we have to address.”

But it’s hard to tell just where his team stands.

The Seminoles’ victories this season are over teams who are a combined 32-67, including Charleston Southern, which finished 0-11 and 3-8 Louisiana-Monroe. Florida State hasn’t beaten any team that’s better than 6-5 this year.

The Seminoles have lost to six different ACC schools in the past two years and are an unremarkable 15-8 (not including a pair of wins over lower-division schools).

Fisher said Monday that it takes time to rebuild the program to where it was in Bowden’s heyday.

“We’re not that far away from winning,” Fisher said. “I love the direction we’re going. I don’t like that we lost. We’re very close.”

All that remains between now and next year is Florida on Saturday and then a bowl game.

The Seminoles will face a tougher schedule next year when West Virginia visits Sept. 8 and then an intrastate battle in Tampa against South Florida on Sept. 29 in a matchup of senior quarterbacks — Manuel and USF’s B.J. Daniels.

“Obviously every season we come in wanting to be a national championship contender,” said Manuel, resisting any impulse to look too far ahead. But “we still have two more games.”

And while the players and coaches are wrapping up a grueling four months of practice and games, Fisher isn’t expecting his team having any problems being ready for Florida despite its disappointments.

“You won’t have any problem getting emotion for this game,” Fisher said. “When you have a rivalry, records don’t matter.”